Downloads: Procurement Research

From better contract management and accelerating the flow of the cash cycle to simply boosting productivity, electronic and digital signatures have proven to be a useful tool for procurement organizations. And, as the supply chain — and the rest of the world — continue to move toward a paperless workflow and implement smarter technologies, digital signatures and e-signatures are a natural path or progression for procurement. Bottom line: digital signatures and electronic signatures save time and money. Download this paper to learn more!

E-signatures and digital signatures are a rapidly growing sub-segment of the procurement and broader enterprise technology market. The numbers are truly off the charts. According to industry research, the segment experienced 48% growth in 2011, and an average of 53% annual growth in 2012 and 2013. Forrester estimates there will be 700 million e-signature transactions by 2017. There is no doubt that the growth will continue in this market at breakneck pace for at least the next few years. But where do e-signatures and digital signatures fit into e-procurement, beyond simply replacing handwritten signatures on the contract paper? This Spend Matters PRO research brief provides examples and use cases where these solutions can play a critical role supporting end-to-end source-to-pay (S2P) and related procurement processes.

This report is a summary of a webcast by the same name delivered in June, 2015. Alongside Seal Software, we explored how a contract, which is supposed to commercially protect a firm, might have the quite unintended consequences that do just the opposite. This is especially pertinent today, as companies are trying to build better visibility into their supply chains, partners, spending, and underlying contracts. The webcast replay can be viewed here. This quick-hit report summarizes what we found when we dug into some of Apple’s publicly available contract templates. We’ll also comment on results from the real-time polls we conducted during the event, which provides a pulse on where companies actually find themselves in this space (vs. where we think they should be!)

This Spend Matters Research download provides a foundation for procurement and supply chain practitioners to understand the benefits that digital signatures can bring to contracting and contract management as well as interactions with internal stakeholders, suppliers and partners. Download this paper to find out more!

An organization with good contract lifecycle management, backed by a solid CLM solution, can gain a firm grasp of its supply chain, its key suppliers, the composition of the products it’s buying and the locales in which it’s operating. Don't have a CLM solution? You should. Download this paper to learn the basics of why, and first steps you can take.

Spend Matters Perspective - Free Research Download
In this paper, we share why contract management should be a key imperative for any organization, and needs to be fully supported by the procurement, supply chain/sourcing function, and leadership. We also zero-in on why contract visibility is such an essential first step in broader contract stewardship.

Services Procurement Innovation Compass - Free Research Download
Explore today’s SOW-based adoption patterns, starting with how the environment is changing. Also covers SOW suggestions for overcoming adoption, collaboration and process hurdles in adopting these services procurement platforms and enabling third-party management services

Spend Matters - Free Research Download Managing Indirect Services – Procurement’s Greatest Opportunity? Peter Smith, Spend Matters UK/Europe Improving procurement across indirect services categories offers […]

Spend Matters Perspective - Free Research Download Analyzing the Rise of Procurement Staff Augmentation Services: 2011 Update Jason Busch, Executive Editor, Spend Matters At Spend Matters, […]

Spend Matters Perspective - Free Research Download A Statement of Work (SOW) Backdrop – The Foundation of a Business Case Co-authored by: Jason Busch, Thomas […]